California Reviewer's Comments

The California Sex Offender Registry Website known as Megan’s Law is built around a full color topographical map of the state with seven different ways to search and a choice of 12 languages. Mapping and profiles are fully integrated. By California law, only certain sex offenses require a specific address be posted with the offender’s other information. It appears that those crimes involving children under 14 require addresses, but the site does not provide the criteria. Risk level assessments and an identification of sexually dangerous predators are not included. 

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Information Provided:  

California posts home addresses on approximately half of its posted sex offenders and city, county and zip code for the balance; the total represents approximately 2/3 of the total number of sex offenders required to register in the state. Each offender’s profile includes detailed information on the physical description of the offender, a current photograph and alias names. This site doesn’t provide vehicle information or work or school addresses. The profiles also include the crime(s) committed and a brief description of the crime. The description says whether the victim was a child under or over the age of 14, or an adult.

Search Functions:  

California has one of the best mapping search functions in the country. You can also search by name, city, zip code, county, address and for offenders within a selected distance of schools and parks from 1/10 mile to two miles. Once you have used the map to identify a neighborhood, click “list” to get a listing of sex offenders in that area. Integration is seamless: click on a name to view the profile or map the address if it is available. The sizes of icons indicate whether there are one or more sex offenders at the location—difficult to distinguish. 

Additional Site Features:  

Choose from 12 languages including Arabic, Punjabi and Vietnamese. This site is also a good place to find legal information and safety tips for you and your family. Unlike other sites, the California FAQs page answers general questions about court process and what to do if you or someone you know is a victim of a sex crime rather than information relevant to the site itself. 

Ease of Use:  

This website is easy to navigate with a seamless, intuitive function. Conversational language tells you what you will find on the site: both what is included and excluded. The map is one of the most useful to be found on any state sex offender site. A full color, topographical map of the state shows county boundaries with pop-ups of county names as you run your cursor over an area of interest. Icons are clear and allow you to search seven different ways. There is also an online help feature. Zoom and arrow buttons are well labeled and you can drag a zoom box to zoom in on a particular area. 

Contact Information:  

You can contact the California Department of Justice though email or by phone. 

Summary:  

The State of California offers one of the better sex offender registries within the limitations of California law. With seamless integration, locating sex offenders within an area of interest is easy. Including risk assessment and school and work addresses would make it more useful to the residents of California. This should come with compliance to the Adam Walsh Act.